Novo Nordisk slows down on the stock market: the semaglutide-based anti-Alzheimer’s drug fails its trial

The oral version of the treatment does not meet the primary endpoint in advanced studies. The stock drops nearly 10% in Copenhagen.

Novo Nordisk, fresh off the global success of its anti-obesity drugs, suffers a sharp setback on the stock market after the negative outcome of a clinical trial on the potential use of semaglutide in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The Danish group announced that the oral version of the drug - commercially known as Rybelsus, already approved for type 2 diabetes - failed to significantly slow cognitive decline in patients enrolled in the late-stage trial. Market reaction was immediate: the stock fell by nearly 10% on the Copenhagen exchange.

The result carries weight because Alzheimer’s represents a potential new strategic market for the entire class of GLP-1 drugs, the same underlying the blockbuster Ozempic and Wegovy. The possibility of extending therapeutic use to the neurodegenerative disease had fueled high expectations, given that today’s available patient options remain limited and only partially effective. Failing to meet the primary endpoint does not completely close the door to further studies, but it does scale back hopes for a rapid expansion of semaglutide’s use beyond obesity and diabetes. For Novo Nordisk, the message from the data is clear: the road to entering the Alzheimer’s market will be longer than expected.

Andrea Pelucchi